DI or SI

[fish whisperer]

Zummy, Cabelas has the new 899 on sale now for $999. If you look on their site they have quite a few others on sale as well. I have the 798 and wish I had a larger screen, but really enjoy having the SI option. I agree though, having SI at the console and DI up front would be how I would do it as well. Good luck!

I had a humminbird DI at the console Imove it to the front and replaced it with a 1198 di si last spring and it changed the way I fish, I love the side imagining at the console.

[BAMA S]

I have the 1198 at the console and I like to split the screen with SI and di. Really get a good feel of the layout of structure and fish.

[zummy]

I am kinda digging the new Garmins but I will probably hold off until after outage.

[Lucky_Livewell]

At this time, I'm not sure how well side imaging would work on the trolling motor. SI seems to work best when the boat is traveling in a straight direction, when you turn the image gets pretty blurry as the sonar is scattered out in an arc. I'm always turning, adjusting the trolling motor and never really going straight for any length of time. I would definitely rather have the SI on the console rather than on the trolling motor.

FYI - here are some great images of the new Garmin DownVu and SideVu: http://kansasoutdoorsman.com/

[crappie_hunter15]

Side imaging is worth the additional dollars and I wouldn't go any smaller than a 898 (7" screen I believe). Basically the larger the screen the larger the area/distance to the side you will be able to cover. When it comes to screen size the width matters most with SI. A 898 has roughly a 6.10" wide screen a 798 has a 3.50" wide screen and a 998 has a roughly a 7" wide screen. So as you can see you would probably be able to cover at least twice as much ground with the 998 vs the 798 without sacrificing the size of the image. I have a 998 and run it anywhere from 60' to 200' wide depending on what I'm looking for. If I'm looking for large community brush piles put in by the state/corp then 200 fits the bill and I can get it done fast. If I'm looking for smaller stuff in and around a creek channel then 100' or less and drive right down the channel. Don't let the new technology scare you a couple trips out playing with this and you will have the hang of it. My best advice once you get one would be to start using it to find bigger known items (brush piles, drop offs, rock piles, trees, ect.) so you can learn what they look like on the screen and keep practicing/playing with it.

[warhawk]

I am kinda digging the new Garmins but I will probably hold off until after outage.

Check into the maps of the lakes you fish, HB maps are lousy for Arkansas. Garmin has the best map coverage for AR but is kind of an unknown how their DI works.

I bought one of the new Humminbird 859 DI units, without checking on the mapping. Only to learn that HB's Lakemaster chip doesn't include Lake Ouachita, the largest lake in Arkansas and one of the most popular.

Now I wish I had bought one of the new big screen Garmin units.

[Kansasoutdoorsman]

To echo what Lucky said, the new Garmin Down Vu is really sharp. Side imaging is a nice tool but I don't use it near what i do the down vu. Garmin is really ramping up the power on those units to get a clear picture. Hummingbird has the new 360 and I have heard some really good things about it but was told it is be hard to pin point the exact location of something as you moving… Lowrance is coming out with the new scope that mounts to the trolling motor and points forward. It's a neat idea in theory but as Lucky pointed out imaging products blur when they are moving so it's going to be real interesting to see how the can turn the trolling motor an not blur the image. If you have to sit there and just look around it won't do us much good but if I can see the bass guys going crazy for it.

[zummy]

Do the Garmins also have traditional 2d on their units or is it on di?

[warhawk]

Do the Garmins also have traditional 2d on their units or is it on di?

Every DI unit I've seen also does 2D sonar. I know HB makes the 859 in a GPS/2D only combo. Not sure if Garmin offers that or not.

[Superx10]

Lowrance DSI units are DI only, while Humminbirds that say DI also have 2D. With Lowrance, get the HDI units if you want DI and 2D. I'm not real sure on Garmin units but they're starting to come out with SI/DI units this year. I use my SI to search/locate for structure while DI gets glanced at when I need to verify something from 2D. While anchored, I will look at 2D/DI while SI doesn't get much action.